"19 Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people:
20 religious, nonreligious,
21 meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists,
22 the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life.
23 I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!"
PLEASE COME WITH ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS THAT MAY BE ON YOUR HEART. IN FACT, PLEASE DO US A HUGE FAVOR AND EITHER POST YOUR QUESTION, OR IF IT IS PERSONAL, PLEASE EMAIL IT TO ME AT doncurry1@twcny.rr.com SO THAT WE COULD BE A LITTLE PREPARED. The questions can be about anything from "Is there really a heaven and a hell, and how can we know?," to "What about pre-marital sex?," to, "How can the church become more relevant to my friends?," to "Does God really hear our prayer?" or "Does the bible say anything about homosexuality?" There is no guarantee that each question will be answered to your satisfaction, but just addressing them as a group and journeying toward an answer is sometimes 90% of the battle. The chances are that if you have a question, or are questioning, then most if not all have the same question or questions. The truth is if we don't have questions or at times question things, then we are not being intellectually honest. Growth requires heart-rending questions. Let's not hold back, it's 'open season' for questions.
20 religious, nonreligious,
21 meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists,
22 the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life.
23 I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!"
PLEASE COME WITH ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS THAT MAY BE ON YOUR HEART. IN FACT, PLEASE DO US A HUGE FAVOR AND EITHER POST YOUR QUESTION, OR IF IT IS PERSONAL, PLEASE EMAIL IT TO ME AT doncurry1@twcny.rr.com SO THAT WE COULD BE A LITTLE PREPARED. The questions can be about anything from "Is there really a heaven and a hell, and how can we know?," to "What about pre-marital sex?," to, "How can the church become more relevant to my friends?," to "Does God really hear our prayer?" or "Does the bible say anything about homosexuality?" There is no guarantee that each question will be answered to your satisfaction, but just addressing them as a group and journeying toward an answer is sometimes 90% of the battle. The chances are that if you have a question, or are questioning, then most if not all have the same question or questions. The truth is if we don't have questions or at times question things, then we are not being intellectually honest. Growth requires heart-rending questions. Let's not hold back, it's 'open season' for questions.
11 comments:
Thanks for the good night. I think the "question pump" may have been primed at our meeting, so please feel free to fire away.
So I have a few questions.....the main one right now being.....after reading "The Shack" one of the main things I really felt like what God wanted me to get was "Let go of your independence and live free". So my question is how does one do that? How can a person live completely dependent on God?
Also, I have another question. When you have a dream or God gives you a word and you really feel like it is for someone else, how do you know you should for sure tell them. Like what if I have a dream and it is about someones son and the dream is not exactly pleasant but you are like pretty positive it is from God, how do you know if you should tell it to someone or not?
I have many more that just keep popping into my head but I will save them for later. Thanks you guys for a wonderful night!
Kristan
I would like to field a partial answer to Kristen's question... Please make adjustments where necessary.
The majority of dreams from God, actually reveal something personal about ourselves rather than something about the person in the dream.
Ask yourself what the person in your dream represents to you.
[I.e. One time I dreamt that my sister, Crystal, died. I experienced a deep grief in my dream. I feared she was in danger when I woke up. I immediate began praying. I remembered that in the dream Crystal had curly hair that looked just like mine when I was the same age (15). Crystal represented normal, carefree, adolescent life. When I was 15 that was lost to me and God was showing me I needed to fully grieve that loss before I was able to move on.]
There is much more to be said about dreams...
Interestingly, I dreampt last night about someone's son and am currently praying it through...
Howdy-
I just have simple(hopefully) question.I would like to ask for your definition/opinion on exactly on what an "Apostle" is and does.
I see in Hebrews 3:1 where the NKJV calls Jesus an Apostle, and the NLT labels Him as "God's Messenger." I have seen the term also used to describe people over groups of churches, people who do signs and wonders, or even to describe regular eldership.
So, is it...
Messenger
Elder
Miracle Worker
Bigger Than Local Church Leadership
or N/A
All opinions would be appreciated.
In Christ,
Adam W. Capron
Just to get the dialogue going regarding the community...
Any thoughts out there? I would like to be a little radical--as much as it scares me. My thoughts are that we might to try a new way to get new resulsts... Using our gifts out there would amazing...
...What was Jesus approach?
Praying for the sick in hospitals or nursing homes might be messy, but I am up for a bit of a mess... Risk is good. Just thinking out loud to prime the pump : )
Praying for the sick in the community sounds sweet to me! or what about playing worship and maybe a drama for the nursing homes?hw
Woohoo! Keep it comin! Adding this page to my faves so that I can click it when I have a sec...
kristan...you are definitely a dreamer, and I mean that in a VERY good way. Since the One who gave you the dream lives inside you, I think you should ask Him how to handle the dream. In my case, as I have had dreams concerning people, He typically lets me know if I should tell the person directly, or tell an oversight and let them shepherd the person through the dream if they prayerfully feel to. In fact if the dream is beyond "edification, exhortation and comfort" (1Cor 14:3) I would recommend that you tell an oversight and then pray they handle the dream correctly. Sometimes sharing it with an oversight relieves the pressure and opens our life up again for more God-inspired dreams. We should always endeavor to protect every conduit of speaking the Lord chooses to use. There is a prophetic dimension to your dreams that the Body of Christ needs.
lisa...another dreamer whose gift is so needed in the Body. From the OT Joseph who interpreted dreams to feed the known world, to the NT Joseph (husband of Mary), dreams may be extremely important for individuals, as well as people groups. I have personally had dreams that completely altered the direction of my life...can't imagine where I would be without them. Both for direction and for knowing how to pray in situations where I am at a loss.
adam...apostle...you're right, Jesus is referred to as the 'apostle and high priest of our confession' (Heb 3:1), letting us know He was/is the ultimate apostolic ministry. The scriptures in different places refer to Jesus as all five of the 5-fold ministry, meaning He is the ultimate standard and example for life and conduct to all people He has called to function in the five-fold ministry. Perhaps the best description of an apostle I can think of comes from the book by Bill Scheidler, "Apostle - A Fathering Servant." This description places the emphasis on responsibility and relational connections rather than on office and public reputation. The apostle Paul spends considerable time addressing the idea of 'false apostles' in his writings, since they had actually infiltrated some churches he had founded. He makes no bones about it, when he says, these false apostles transform themselves into angels of light and you can know them because they will be more interested in their own ministry than the Body, and they will also encourage you to give to their ministry. Among the many indicators he uses to address this topic, one interesting thing he says is found in 2Cor 5 where he says, "they boast in appearance and not in heart,"...what a big thought. He is saying that they will emphasize the externals and not the internal aspect of Christianity, since their focus is appearance and not the heart...the exact opposite of Jesus' emphasis. We should never forget the eternal words of Samuel the prophet when addressing Saul (the 'by all appearances' great king of Israel), "man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1Sam 16:7)
yeah...praying for people in need...sounds like a God thought. Now we need to pray the prayer of Acts 4:29-31 when all the people prayed, "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness." Amazing!!!! They prayed for boldness to speak His word, then God confirms His pleasure with the prayer by 'shaking the place', and then they were 'filled with boldness' to do the very thing they had just prayed...speak with boldness, which simply means "freely, frankly, without ambiguity, and with cheerful courage". How COOL!!! Lord grant us your servants the courage to speak free, frankly, without ambiguity and with cheerful courage.
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